I can think of several words for that process, including:Quote from Ashy_Larry
i wouldn't consider rolling off a socket and replacing it with another socket to be illogical... silly, maybe, but not illogical.
silly
backwards
convoluted
counter-intuitive
rube goldbergesque
asinine
labyrinthine
.... I could go on. But removing a socket so that you can add a socket is one of the stupidest series of actions one could take - it literally doesn't make a goddamned bit of sense at all. I don't know why you're defending it as anything other than stupid. What sense does it make to remove a socket.... so that you can add a socket? To me it makes none at all. At the very least, with the introduction of RG, socket rolls should be disabled on weapons so that we're not removing sockets just to go back and re-add them.
The socket property is completely inferior in every single case because RG is always superior. So, at the very lest, fix that problem.
1
My hope is that whoever is responsible for balancing the Wizard class will really take a look at Delseres, Vyrs, and Tal Rashas to really hone in and offer four uniquely different yet balanced levels of gameplay. Find a way to make it so that no set really outshines the other and start with Firebird as a base. Once you hone in on that, then maybe branch further out with newer sets and balancing some legendaries in the mix.
The Tal's suggestion in the post above mine seems like a no brainer. All elemental damage should equal your highest. That alone would go a huge way to improve the set. Also, no meteor casts on breakable objects.
1
All stat stick legendaries need to be reworked to have some build changing idea to it -- ALL OF THEM -- DON'T EVEN LEAVE ONE. In my opinion, EVERY SKILL needs at least ONE skill changing legendary attached to it; and the idea needs to be impactful, synergistic, and build altering if at all possible. We need more sets. Every class should have 5+, **MINIMUM**. Focus on making each one like Jade, Marauders, Akkhans. Those are beautiful sets because they synergize so well with other legendaries. KEEP DOING MORE OF THAT.
The gem changes are really disheartening to hear... I too was looking forward to them; now not so much.
1
Yes. You can choose to just not use a gift on it at all, but it's never going to be end-game quality without five primary stats. Four primary stat items will become the new insta-soul.
Socket is hands down the worst innate affix roll you can get if you plan on that weapon being end game quality. It doesn't exclude the item from being end game quality if the other three primary stats roll fantastically, but it still is the worst you can get as it innately offers nothing, since you can just roll it away to add a fifth primary to replace it as a new socket instantly.
3
While this new item, Ramalandi's Gift, is a great step in the right direction. I feel like it is somewhat counter-intuitive and I have some concerns. To anyone who doesn't know what this item is set to do if unchanged it will add a socket to a weapon basically for free. You get a fifth primary at no cost to the weapons other stats.
My first concern stems from the fact that having an innate socket on a weapon will go from being the most favorable primary stat it can roll to the absolute least favorable. You will never want an innate socket on your weapon as you will just want to reroll it away and use Ramalandi's Gift to replace it for free, meaning the socket roll itself has absolutely no intrinsic value and you will wish it could have been anything but a socket so that you got more value out of that affix. You will never gain any practical use out of getting an innate socket on a weapon drop and the innate socket roll has basically been relegated to the status of completely useless.
This will only cease being a concern if weapons with innate sockets stop rolling altogether after Ramalandi's Gift is implemented (if left unchanged), which hopefully will happen. But, this will be a complete let down for anyone who already has an amazing innate socket weapon already and can't take advantage of the fifth primary they could have instead.
Please take note of the fact I am not voicing concerns of the idea of adding a socket to a weapon, I think it is a great idea, and it is better than what we already have. But if five primary stat weapons are going to be the new 'it' thing. It should at least be made so that weapons that already have an innate socket (and enchanted another stat as a natural result) can take advantage of this idea and not be left obsolete.
I'm not quite sure what a solid solution would be, but would be interested in hearing people's thoughts and/or concerns.
2
What his argument is about is the fact that sockets on different equipment have different value. 3 sockets on a chest armor is one primary stat, while on a ring or amulet it is only 1 socket for 1 primary stat. Also, amulets primary stats are more valuable than chest armors because chest armor cannot roll elemental damage, 100% CD, and 10% CC. This is what his argument is about, and it is strictly arguing against putting these legendary gems into anything but jewelry.
The "sacrifice" and "choice" he is talking about is not that you have to sacrifice a great stat on an amulet to instead put this gem in (which will become the new BiS for everyone). The sacrifice is that you can't just stick it into a piece of chest armor instead and only lose 1/3rd of a primary stat, which isn't even that detrimental on a piece of chest armor as opposed to an amulet to begin with.
1
I have 7040 achievement point (96%) and I am itching badly for them to patch the broken ones, but I understand why it's taking so long. They might already have a fix for them ready to go, but I can see why they might want to release it in 2.1 (or whatever it will be called) with a whole slew of other changes as well.
1
At least bounties and rifts are random and offer different sceneries and monsters to fight. Bounties are everywhere in all acts so you can choose which ones you want to do. Not really sure I am understanding what the downside is.
Monster Density could be a valid complaint, but it has nothing to do specifically with Rifts and Bounties.
1
Not to mention that if each legendary is being given a unique ability, it seems overly deceptive to see another player wearing legendaries when they don't actually have those unique abilities that are supposed to be specifically attributed to said legendaries. It kind of has a disjointed feeling, that I'm sure I will adapt to but won't ever truly feel quite right about. It almost feels like these two new features (transmog and new legendary passives) have a conflict of interest as far as perception goes that I think Blizzard usually tries to avoid but is definitely being overlooked here.
An example that would apply, if transmog existed now, might be seeing someone using a FireWalkers skin over another set of boots, but not seeing any fire trail being left behind. It just has a blatant mismatch feeling to it that I don't particularly care for. It ruins some of the mystique that these legendaries are supposed to carry in their own individuality. If you thought the Firewalkers were ugly and just wanted to cover them up with the skin of a tier 8 boot skin, no big deal there.
On the other side of the spectrum, I want to clarify that I'd be fine with Firewalker boots that were covered by a tier 8 boot skin, to still display the fire trail passive effect, because at least you are actually wearing Firewalkers. It's a little deceptive, but at least the effect matches the actual item equipped to the owner. So if I see the trail I know they are Firewalkers underneath the transmog skin. It's deceptive, but it's a deception to a lesser degree that has a clear logical flow that leads to a clear logical outcome solely based upon immediate visual inspection.
I would have to argue there is a delicate and subtle finesse to this situation that the devs are overlooking.
1
I am kind of against the idea of items taking on the skins of legendaries, but not necessarily against making a legendary look like a regular tiered piece of armor.
3
If you take this line of thought further you could just remove all boundaries. Blizzard could just put a FAQ up at the beginning saying that it is a sandbox game and you can impose whatever limits you want to optimize your fun. Add an NPC that creates infinite gold, create an NPC that dupes items for you, increase legendary drop rate to whatever you want it to be. I mean what you choose to do doesn't effect anyone else right? It's all about your fun. If those NPCs ruin your fun show some self-control man!
But there in lies the problem. What many consider fun is based upon what is happening in the game at large within the community. To dismiss that just because your personal fun isn't being infringed upon is just as selfish in a sense.
You can keep pushing this "if trading is not fun, then don't trade" rhetoric all day long, but if I am not trading and my friend I play alongside is and he is killing monsters three times faster then me, that affects me. My personal fun has been compromised because I can't ignore that. Him killing faster effects my experience gain and my drops since monsters die quicker to the actions he is partaking in outside my gameplay. The boundaries imposed upon him being inequitable to mine outside of our game together has infringed upon my ability to share a common experience with him in the context of the game at large. For many, that is the fun of the game, the ability to share a common experience with the community imposed by the boundaries of the game itself on everyone mutually.
Many people care about the structure of the game as it is defined and enforced by Blizzard and want to play a game where everyone in the community is held to the same standard of play. For them, therein lies their personal fun. It enforces a sense of camaraderie that we are all playing the same game with the same limitations. What those limitations are defined at matters immensely.
I am not using this argument to make a case for whether trading should or shouldn't be allowed. If you want to be able to trade and want to make a case for that in the context of the game, fine. I am all for that. But, please, talk about it in the context of finding loot and feeling a sense of reward in doing so. How do these choices affect everyone and their ability to share a common experience? But don't use that "self-control" argument as if it had any relevance. Boundaries set by Blizzard matters. What people around you are doing in a multiplayer environment matters. It may not matter to you, but if it matters to even just a minority it is still relevant and not dismissible.